BEEVILLE — According to an area news report, the missing police dog, Irk, was not the first dog to be discovered missing from the home of its handler.

“I can’t confirm or deny that,” Police Chief Joe Treviño said about a Belgian Malinois named Amoc which had gone missing from the same yard where Irk was being kept.

That happened about five years ago and Amoc’s body was found later. The animal apparently had been struck by a vehicle.

Treviño said he heard of the earlier situation after Irk turned up missing, but he had no way to confirm that.

The chief said not everyone is cut out to be a dog handler and not everyone wants to be assigned an animal.

He said the canine officer, Sgt. Jason Alvarez, has been looking for Irk since he turned up missing on Aug. 8.

Because no dog body or injured dog has turned up, Treviño remains convinced that someone has Irk penned up in the city or nearby.

That is not a good idea because Coastal Bend Crime Stoppers is offering a combined reward of $6,000 for information that could lead to the recovery of the animal and the arrest of anyone who might be keeping it.

Of that, Crime Stoppers is offering the first $2,000 and individual business donors from Corpus Christi are offering the additional $4,000.

If someone does have the dog and is keeping it from the police department, that would be a state jail felony, punishable by two years in a state jail facility and a $10,000 fine.

Treviño said he expects the fact that Amok got out of the same yard is simply a coincidence.

So far, the BPD has no plans to replace Irk if he is not found. And the chief plans to move the department’s remaining dog to a more secure location.

Anyone who could offer information on how to recover Irk is being asked to contact the BPD at 358-8100 or call Coastal Bend Crime Stoppers at (877) 362-0206 or send an email to coastalbendcrimestoppers.com.